News

For Immediate Release: 03/17/23 Rory M. Christian, Chair

Contact:

James Denn | James.Denn@dps.ny.gov | (518) 474-7080

http://www.dps.ny.gov http://twitter.com/NYSDPS

New Mid-Hudson Region Area Code Takes Effect

23031 / 21-C-0600

New 329 Area Code for Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester Counties

Need for New Area Code Signals Strong Regional Economic Demand

ALBANY – The New York State Department of Public Service (Department) announced today that beginning March 24, 2023, customers in the 845-area code region requesting new mobile or landline telephone service, an additional line, or a move in the location of their service, may be assigned a number in the new 329-area code. The new area code will provide additional much-needed phone numbers for residents and businesses in the existing 845-area code region.

As a result of a strong demand for telecommunication services in the Hudson Valley and Catskills regions due to economic growth, the New York State Public Service Commission in early 2022 approved a new area code for the area served by 845 using an area code overlay. An overlay occurs when multiple area codes serve the same geographical area.

With the addition of the new area code, the region is now well-positioned to accommodate continued economic growth and growing consumer demand for telephone service. The new 329-area code will be superimposed over the same geographical area as the existing 845-area code. The 845-area code serves all or parts of Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties, and includes the cities of Kingston, Poughkeepsie and Newburgh and the towns of Haverstraw, Woodstock, and Ramapo.

The area code overlay requires consumers to continue to dial 10 digits for local calls (area code + 7- digit telephone number) in the 845/329 area or 1+10 digits for calls to other area code regions.

Customers in the 845-area code have already been completing local calls by dialing 10 digits since the July 16, 2022, national implementation of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Important facts that consumers and businesses need to know about the 329-area code overlay are:

• Current telephone numbers, including current area code, will not change;
• All calls within and between 845/329 must be dialed with 10 digits;
• Consumers will continue to dial 1+ area code + telephone number for all calls to other area codes;
• What is a local call will continue to remain a local call;
• The price of a call, and the price of other telephone services, will not change due to the new overlay area code;
• Calls to reach 911 Emergency Service will remain three digits;
• If 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, 711, or 811 services are currently available in the community, consumers will still dial these codes with just three digits; and
• Numbers in the 329-area code will not be available for assignment until remaining numbers in the 845-area code are exhausted.

Customers should ensure that all services, automatic dialing equipment, applications, software, or other types of equipment recognize the new 329-area code as a valid area code. Some examples include life safety systems, fax machines, Internet dial-up numbers, alarm and security systems, gates, speed dialers, mobile phone contact lists, call forwarding settings, voicemail services, and similar functions.

Business stationery, advertising materials, personal checks, and personal or pet ID tags should be updated as necessary to ensure each includes the 329-area code. All automatically dialed calls within the 845/329 area must be programmed to dial using 10-digits and the digit prefix “1” must be included for all calls to other area codes.

Documents regarding this proceeding may obtained by going to the Search section of the Commission’s Web site at www.dps.ny.gov, under ‘Commission Files’, and entering Case Number 21-C-0600 in the input box labeled “Search by Case Number”. Many libraries offer free Internet access. Commission documents may also be obtained from the Commission’s Files Office, 14th floor, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223 (518-474-2500). If you have difficulty understanding English, please call us at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this press release. For more information, you may also visit your service provider’s website.

Local telecommunications company adds a significant part to its enterprise security threat landscape

[Syracuse, NY, February 27, 2023] Northland Communications, a Central New York-based telecommunications provider, announced extended security and protection to its dedicated internet to offset distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

DDoS mitigation is the process of protecting a target from a distributed denial-of service attack. A DDoS attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted server, service, or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of internet traffic. A DDoS attack on a company’s website, web application, APIs, network, or data center infrastructure can cause downtime and prevent legitimate users from buying products, using a service, getting information, or any other access.

“Business growth means more connected devices to your network, and more bandwidth to accommodate users. It also opens the door to increased risk, where attackers move in with sophisticated DDoS attacks,” said Stephany VanDyke, product line manager, Northland Communications. “Being well prepared and implementing consistent and stringent measures to mitigate attacks is key to limiting and negating the potential business impact of us and our customers.”

Northland Communications has invested in the DDoS mitigation across its fiber network. This service helps keep its customers connected with a 99.999% uptime by its live monitoring systems to alert potential attacks. All of Northland’s existing internet customers and any customer who begins to utilize our service will be receiving complimentary DDoS attack protection up to 1GB (which accounts for 76% of all attacks) through December 31, 2023.

To learn more about DDoS mitigation services or seek additional coverage if you’re an existing dedicated internet service customer, please contact Northland Communications at 315-622-2216 or visit northland.net.

After leading the nation in adopting policies that support Broadband deployment with its New NY Broadband Grant Program, NY reversed course in 2019 with the adoption of a new Right of Way fee (think tax) for placing fiber optic cable along State roads. Revenues to be generated by the fee have been estimated as high as $1 billion. Along with the new fee, DOT also now requires Fiber Optic providers to complete ROW boundary line surveys at a cost of $5,000-$10,000 per mile. No other utilities operating in the ROW’s are subject to the new tax or survey requirements. As noted by several upstate legislators in 2020, “[t]his fee does nothing more than disincentivize the expansion of rural broadband and is nothing more than a roadblock for rural broadband expansion.”

Now, U.S. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, from the 21st Congressional District, has called for FCC action against the policy calling it a barrier to closing the digital divide as well as being discriminatory and contrary to federal law (Link). NYSTA applauds the action taken by Congresswoman Stefanik for her recognition of the harm New York’s Fiber Tax is having on closing the digital divide and ultimately the harm this will cause to New Yorkers seeking expanded broadband access.